A Canticle for Leibowitz

Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of 20th-century literature—a chilling and still-provocative look at a postapocalyptic future.

The Way of Kings: Book One of The Stormlight Archive

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.

Brandon has produced another pretty good starting book for a new series - another long series it seems like. The four main threads do a great job of developing characters for the long run. The story line is interesting, the characters changing with their fortunes (usually for the worse at least at the beginning) make for a fun story and a great audiobook.

The reading is great with the actors providing great voice track for the various entities both human and not. I look forward to the next book.

The System of the World: Book Eight of The Baroque Cycle

In this concluding volume of Neal Stephenson’s epic work, “Half-Cocked Jack” Shaftoe must escape the noose of Jack Ketch; the rivalry between Newton and Leibniz comes to a head; and Daniel Waterhouse pursues his dream to build the Logic Mill

This is a fitting end to this series. Its a well told story tracing parts of the true Baroque period in the guise of SCI-FI. This series was okay. Some of the books are great, others are a bit slow. Overall, its a fun few of our history told through some interesting characters. Over the course of the books, the fun heros do get somewhat lost in the story. The are very compelling in the first few books and not so compelling in the last.

The Fall of Hyperion

In the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. Onthe world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing - nothing anywhere in the universe - will ever be the same.

The first book was a great story. This one takes a different slant and tells another interesting story. It is not as compelling as the first, but still holds together. The bad guy is surprising (figuring out who or what it is). The time tombs are still confusing to me - must just be a bit dense for this one.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.

I picked this up as one of those books that did well in the SCI-FI award competition. The concept is interesting in that you have immortal beings with great power who have been cast down so to speak to serve a particular human family. This has had the result of stopping wars and disputes due to the overwhelming power of that one family.

It also brings in infinite corruption and a total lack of human dignity in those rulers. The story goes about how this is all changed by a young woman brought in to be a sacrifice. Its a good story but lacks energy. It spends alot of time with the young woman moping around once it is clear what will happen to her.

Leviathan Wakes

James S.A. Corey delivers compelling SF that ranks with the best in the field. In Leviathan Wakes, ice miner Jim Holden is making a haul from the rings of Saturn when he and his crew encounter an abandoned ship, the Scopuli. Uncovering a terrifying secret, Jim bears the weight of impending catastrophe. At the same time, a detective has been hired by well-heeled parents to find a missing girl, and the investigator’s search leads him right to the Scopuli.

Currency: Book Seven of The Baroque Cycle

Daniel Waterhouse finds himself embroiled in a dark conflict that has been raging in the shadows for decades. It is a secret war between the brilliant, enigmatic Master of the Mint (and closet alchemist) Isaac Newton and his archnemesis, the insidious counterfeiter Jack the Coiner, a.k.a. Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds.

This is one of the better books in the series focusing at how currency came to be the source of the English economy rather then just coin. The book does a great job providing a fun adventure story through the streets of London and Europe while educating one on the politics of the time.

The reader is great and really brings out the characters - even to the changing age of the characters. Really good read.

King of the Vagabonds: Book Two of The Baroque Cycle

A chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe - London street urchin-turned-legendary swashbuckling adventurer - risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox...and Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent a contentious continent through the newborn power of finance.

This story focuses more on Jack and Eliza and their adventures. it covers a different part of society during the same time period. Kind of makes you wonder how we came to be given this part of history. The story is engaging and thought provoking. I find the topic interesting and the reading is great.

Quicksilver: Book One of The Baroque Cycle

In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe -- in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.

This is a pretty catching novel of what is a series about a pretty fascinating time in history. While I am not always sure what the point of the book is, the tale is great. The characters kind of flow through life, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The time period is fascinating and you meet a lot of characters you will see through the rest of the series.

Solomon’s Gold: Book Six of The Baroque Cycle

The year is 1714. Daniel Waterhouse has returned to England, where he joins forces with his friend Isaac Newton to hunt down a criminal gang attempting to blow up Natural Philosophers with "Infernal Devices," or time bombs. Unbeknownst to Daniel, however, Newton has an ulterior motive: to wrest the Solomonic Gold from the control of his arch-enemy, the master counterfeiter Jack the Coiner, a.k.a Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds.

This was a quick read covering some interesting tales with all the favorite characters. I did feel the author got a bit distracted in this book. While the story carries well, the historical side kind of wanders and is hard to keep track of.

The reader was great - I am constantly laughing at some of Jack's antics. Worth the read.

The Hero of Ages: Mistborn, Book 3

The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight. It all leads up to a finale unmatched for originality and audacity that will leave listeners shaking their heads in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.

This is a good book to close the series with. Brandon has done a great job with this series and closes out all the loose ends. I loved how he ended the story and how he explained how the world got to the way it was. Pretty inventive ideas.

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